Foreword
Back in 2006, the XNA team started working on a technology that would evolve into the product you’ll soon be reading about — XNA Game Studio 3.0. At the heart of all the technical efforts we had going on, such as prototyping, designing, and testing, we had a vision that we were trying to achieve. That vision was to enable anyone to create games for the Xbox 360 console, even if it was only one person and he or she didn’t have much programming experience. In essence, we wanted to lower the barrier to entry for game development and, to put it simply, bring back some of the “fun” of playing the roles of designer, artist, and programmer on your own game.
For me, this vision brings back many fond memories of game development and some of the reasons I wanted to become a game developer in the first place. Like so many others, though, it was all sparked by playing some great games. Role-playing games (RPGs) are one of my favorite video game genres (no offense intended to my other favorites — the platformers and adventure games). I spent countless nights with my Game Boy playing Square’s Final Fantasy Legend II, which is one of my favorites. To me there is something really incredible about RPGs in that they pull together music, story, and gameplay in a way that brings you fully into the game’s world.
As I continued to play more RPGs like Shadowrun and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest on the Super Nintendo, and Ultima on the PC, I found myself wanting to tell my own stories. This was around the time I began to learn programming in school, and my best friend and I worked on stories for games that would make good RPGs. I loved being able to incorporate aspects of my own life or experiences into a game that was humorous and fun to play, such as an RPG I wrote that took place in our middle school. All of my favorite teachers were hero characters, and well, you probably know the other side. (Note that I am now mature enough to say that all teachers are heroes!) These games were entertaining to play—even if only for myself and my close friends.
While playing RPGs had the ability to capture my imagination and attention, developing RPGs brought things to another level, and I was completely captivated by the process. When I wasn’t in class, I was programming or creating content for my games. And when I was in class, or otherwise not in front of my computer, I was writing down story ideas or code that would allow me to have work “queued up” for when I was back at my computer. For me, this created a “perfect storm” where I was learning skills, creating something amazing, and having a lot of fun every time I made something cool happen. This eventually led to my career in game development, where I get to have fun as part of my job, but has never truly allowed me to relive the same magical moments I had while watching my own game come together.
As we continue to develop XNA Game Studio and the XNA Framework, these kinds of memories are what inspire me and the rest of the team to make XNA Game Studio better and easier to use for both professional and hobbyist game developers. We’re always working towards making the process of getting your ideas into playable form as engaging and easy as possible.
As you begin your journey into game development, using this book and the RPG genre as a jumping-off point, I hope that you tap the creativity and passion that is crucial to creating a successful game. More important than commercial success, however, I hope you have fun and enjoy the process of learning a new development technology and creating your own games.
It is truly a great time (again) to be a game developer!
Michael Klucher, Program Manager
XNA Platform and Tools